A Girl Named Galatea
by ChancellorAspergers
Summary: An angelic being comes down to the Land of Oooooooo and answers Finn's prayers for a girlfriend. However, a pretty face doesn't guarantee a pretty heart. Written right after the last episode, "The Comet". I haven't finished the whole story arc yet, so I'm open to suggestions for a possible ending. For now, I'll just see where this takes me. Enjoy!
1. Ch 1, Chess with a Madman

Adventure Time Fan Fic

"A Girl Named Galatea"

Ch. 1, Chess with a Madman

"Your move man."

Princess Bubblegum sat patiently as the Old Royal Tart Toter examined the Chess board. He couldn't see or hear, but he could feel where each piece was. His sticky hands gently touched the tops of each tiny figurine, giving him a layout of the battlefield.

The two sat facing each other at a square wooden table in the breakfast room of Bubblegum's Cabin. On the Tart Toter's right was a closed window that looked over a large, caramel lake. Beyond the lake was a field of tall, yellow sweet grass. The Candy Kingdom could be seen off in the distance, lighting up the horizon like a fallen star that had crashed into the Earth. Bubblegum rarely glimpsed at it.

The moon could also be seen from the window. It was full that night, and it was flooding the kitchen with it's soft, white luminescence. The light poured over the table that Princess Bubblegum and the Tart Toter were sitting at, illuminating the candy chess board and it's tiny, bite-sized pieces.

After what seemed like a whole minute, he finally made his move. "A3 to C4." Said the sticky old gingerbread man whilst planting his white chocolate knight on a dark chocolate tile. As he leaned back in his chair, Princess Bubblegum leaned in to look at the board.

He was a surprisingly good opponent, the Old Tart Toter, better than most chess players in the Candy Kingdom. It seemed as if, locked away in that crazed, crusty, corroded, comically confounded mind of his, he had a secret knack for quick strategy making. Maybe that's why he was able to break out of the Candy Asylum so many times.

PB scratched her head as she looked over the tiny battlefield. The majority of her long, bright pink hair cascaded down her back while her front bangs hung over her shoulders, as usual. That night, she choose to wear a red, short sleeved, crochet flower blouse with dark blue women's jeans, which was unusual. Well, for royalty anyway. Regardless, it looked good on Princess Bubblegum.

After a brief internal debate, Princess Bubblegum finally decided to use the bishop she had been keeping in reserve. She moved it from C8 to F5. Then, she picked up a walnut from the bowl she kept by the right side of the board and threw it at the Old Tart Toter's head. A gentle indication that it was his turn.

According to the Toter, security at the Candy Asylum had become much more lax since The King of Ooooooo got elected princess. A LOT of things in the Candy Kingdom had become more lax since that con-artist got elected princess. Still, the candy people loved him, and they would continue to love him as long as he could speak.

The Royal Tart Toter picked up his queen and plopped it right down on tile G3. Things just got real. He was in a prime position to take out Princess Bubblegum's knight which, up until now, had been instrumental in her plan to score a checkmate. She decided she should focus more on the game. Still, PB couldn't stop thinking about the King of Ooooooo and the Candy Kingdom.

It was hard for Princess Bubblegum, watching another person rule her kingdom. She had spent literally centuries building it up, only to have it stolen by some dill weed in a semi-legal-election. All that time, all that work, all those poor, dumb, candy people...

Now, Princess Bubblegum winced whenever she heard news from there. For her, the whole experience was like watching a toddler walk a tightrope over a shark tank. And her "toddler" wasn't even wearing any floaties. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Finn and Jake were still protecting the Candy Kingdom. Them, along with the Gumball Guardians and Rattleballs. Still, they could only do so much. Without her guidance, the candy people might...

Princess Bubblegum snapped back to reality. She totally zoned out there, completely forgot about the game! She hadn't even made her move yet. PB looked at the board for second, then moved her rook up from A8 to A5. She picked up a walnut from the bowl on the table and was about to throw it when...she stopped.

The Old Royal Tart Toter was zoned out too! He was looking out the window on his right. Princess Bubblegum wondered what he was staring at. He was as blind as a bat, yet he seemed to be fixated on the moon. It was full tonight, and his moist eyes were reflecting its pale glow.

"She's coming."

Said the Royal Tart Toter.

"What?"

Asked a confused Princess Bubblegum.

"She's coming."

"Who's coming?"

"Galatea."

"Who's Galatea?"

The Old Royal Tart Toter continued to stare out the window, his dead eyes fixed on the moon. Slowly, he turned his face back toward Princess Bubblegum, his constricted gumdrop pupils re-dilating. A long silence passed. Then he smiled. "Forgive me Princess, I totes zoned out there for a moment." PB just sat staring at him. "Is it my turn again? Oh!"

The Old Tart Toter leaned over the table and started touching the pieces with his sticky hands again. After a quick moment of consideration, he moved his rook from H1 to H8. "Checkmate. I win." Princess Bubblegum continued to stare at him. After a while, she looked down at the board. "...Hmmm...so you have."

The Old Royal Tart Toter got up from his chair and began to walk toward the door. Automatically, Princess Bubblegum got up to help him. Holding his hand, she led him out of the kitchen and into the vestibule. A single red lampshade covered sconce illuminated the area. Guided by touch, the Tart Toter found the old wooden box kept by the umbrella bucket near the entrance.

Reaching inside the box, the Tart Toter pulled out the live squirrel and chicken that he often carried with him. After reattaching them to his sticky hands, he began to walk out the door that Princess Bubblegum had opened for him. As the Tart Toter was passing out, PB reached out and put her hand on the his shoulder. He stopped, turned, and smiled.

"Goodnight Princess."

"Goodnight Charles."

After the Tart Toter had left, Princess Bubblegum went back into the kitchen, packed up the candy chess board, cleaned off the table, and poured herself a tall, cold, glass of milk. Peppermint Butler had gone out dancing earlier, so she was by herself tonight. That was ok though. PB had gotten used to cleaning up after herself.

As she sat down at the table again, Princess Bubblegum looked out the window. Her kingdom still stood off in the distance, annoyingly bright against the nighttime sky. Hanging above it was the moon, glowing with an eery pale light.


	2. Ch 2, Sitting in the Dark

Adventure Time Fan Fic

"A Girl Named Galatea"

Ch. 2, Sitting in the Dark

Finn gently sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. The grass beneath him was wet with dew. He could feel the tiny droplets of moisture on his calves. It was a nice feeling though. The dew, like everything else in the summer, was warm despite the fact that the sun had long since left the sky. After getting himself settled in, Finn looked around

The forest beyond his tree fort was always so calm at night. No ogres or goblins or trolls (well, there WERE ogres and goblins and trolls, but him and Jake had fixed that). Yes. There was nothing here save for a few woodland critters and the hypnotic chirping of crickets. All around him, Finn felt the subtle heartbeat of a world fast asleep. He liked it.

Sometimes, Finn felt like he needed to be alone. Jake was good company and all. It was just that, every now and then, he had to get away from others so he could sort things out by himself. Let'em fester a bit. And this was the perfect place for some serious festering.

A gentle breeze blew through the forest, shaking the canopy of leaves that hung above. Finn took off his Awesome Hat and let the wind caress his golden hair. It had grown to about neck length and looked stylishly shaggy, even though Finn rarely bothered maintaining it. That night, he chose to wear a light blue t-shirt with navy blue cargo shorts (newly minted). He had left his green back pack at home...along with his sword. " _I probably won't need it tonight_. _Besides, I've still got the grass blade."_ Finnheld his right hand up to his face and looked at it. The thorn was gone, and he hadn't been able to bring back the blade since his fight in space. " _Maybe it only comes out when I'm in danger._ " He wondered.

As Finn sat quietly in the darkness, minuscule orbs of light began to appear around him. They floated in the air like tiny stars suspended in space. There was a big cluster of them about 9 feet away from where he was sitting. " _Mmmmmm. Fire Flies._ " Finn thought. " _Fire Flies...Fire...Flame Princess_ ".

It had been a while since Finn had last seen Flame Princess. Frankly, he had been trying his best to avoid her. Their last "adventure" together had ended on a pretty awkward note, what with his failed attempts at reconciliation and Cinnamon Bun suddenly getting super smart. Finn still couldn't figure out how that happened. Maybe it had something to do with him living in the Fire Kingdom for so long. Princess Bubblegum did say he was "half baked" in the beginning.

Of course, everything worked out ok in the end. Flame Princess got her kingdom back and her father and Don Jon were thrown in jail. Finn was glad that Cinnamon Bun had gotten smarter, and he agreed that it would probably be best if him and FP just stayed friends but... He sighed heavily. A chubby raccoon climbing up a tree stopped to look at him.

Finn didn't know what to do now. As of yet, Flame Princess had been his only real girlfriend. Or rather, his "first" real girlfriend, as Jake had once put it in a well intentioned stab at lifting his spirits. " _Yeah, well, first or last, I still messed things up bad,"_ Finn thought bitterly. " _like, bull moose in china shop bad._ "

All this festering about Flame Princess naturally got Finn thinking about relationships in general. Once again, the babbling philosophical idiot in his mind rose to consciousness. " _What makes a good relationship?_ " Finn thought. " _How you know if you've found the right person? Where do you start to look for the right person?...What is love?_ "

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Finn tried to suppress these thoughts. Even if there weren't any mind readers around, the young adventurer decided he shouldn't waste time thinking about stuff like that. " _Who am I kidding? I'm no philosopher._ " He thought. " _I'm just a kid...and a pretty dumb one at that._ "

Finn uncrossed his legs, stretched them out, laid back, and crossed his arms behind his head. There was an opening in the forest ceiling above where he lay that allowed him to see the night sky. He went over his options as he gazed at the stars. " _Should I try to get back with Flame Princess again? Na. I tried that once and it didn't work. Princess Bubblegum? No. Snake Princess? No. Slime Princess? No...LSP?_ " A cold shudder ran through Finn's body. " _Definitely no_."

As Finn continued to think about gf candidates, his eye lids started to grow heavy. " _Maybe my standards are too high._ " He thought. " _Maybe I should...focus on traits other than smarts and good looks like...comedic talent or..._ " He yawned deeply. " _financial savvy._ "

Finn quietly surrendered to the sleep that enveloped him. " _I'll just snooze here for a bit then head back to the Treefort._ " He thought drowsily. Of course, Finn knew full well that probably wasn't gonna happen, but he wasn't worried. Even if he did just lay there until morning, it's not like Jake would get all panicked and run out looking for him. Finn knew his canine brother far better than that.

As Finn closed his eyes he thought one last time of Flame Princess. Her big bright eyes, her flowing crimson locks...her rose petal lips. Then he let the image go as he drifted off into unconsciousness. The forest around him continued to play it's static nighttime lullaby. And sitting above it all was the moon, glowing with an eery pale light.


End file.
